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Private Pilots?

This summer I finally completed something I've wanted to do since I was a kid. I received my private pilot license Aside from the first solos, my most memorable flight so far was taking the family to Saratoga, WY for the day. We enjoyed the town hot springs pool, ate a late lunch and enjoyed good weather both ways (dodged a few rain cells on the way back). Any other pilots on here?

I mentioned I wanted to do this since I was a kid, that's because one of my earliest memories is riding in the back of my uncle's Cessna. Life happened and I forgot all about it until a friend of mine in college mentioned he was a pilot but I couldn't afford it. Moved to CA after school and a coworker who became a very good friend of mine got his license and reminded me but again I couldn't afford it (bay area during the dot-com boom). Most recently me and the kids spent a solid 24 hours in the car driving to and from Wyoming last year to watch the eclipse. Meanwhile a coworker who is a pilot went to work that morning, flew to WY for the eclipse, and was back at work that afternoon. That finally set the ball in motion, and fortunately Monica was supportive because I'm pretty sure this hasn't gotten any cheaper! Currently working on complex endorsement with an eye on instrument training next summer.

Congrats!
I got my first ride in a general aviation plane (Beech Baron - not exactly your "typical" small plane) back in the early 70's from a neighbor, and that cemented the bug solid. I started flying in the Navy at the flying club in '77, put it on hold for a lot of years while I flew (aircrew - E-2 Hawkeye) with the Navy and then started a business, raised a family, and finally got back into it in 2000.
I'm a partner in a flying club at Jeffco that owns a Piper Dakota, a Piper Saratoga, and a Beech Bonanza F-33.
Flying is my mental health refresher.

It's great you got your license. I have always wished to get one like the others but it just didn't work out. But I did get to fly one time.
My step dad was in the air force and spent WW-II in the CBI theater supplying P-40's and tons of other stuff to China and the English. Be fore he left he gave me a US army student pilots hand book. I studied it all through the war. In the 1960's a friend took me up in a J-3 Cub he was rebuilding for my first time ever to be in the air.
The J-3 did not have any of the niceties like the doors were gone as were all the instruments. That model didn't even come with flaps. The fuel gauge was a wire that stuck up out of the cowling.
He had been a flight instructor During WW-II. He thought He'd have some fun when he turned the J-3 over to me. I surprised him and my self. That WW-II book must have been well written.
How ever he wouldn't let me land the Cub. It was a very small field with tall trees. Poop!

Thanks everyone, it has been a very fun and rewarding adventure! Btw, I completed my complex endorsement this afternoon

Originally Posted by gkainz

Congrats!
I'm a partner in a flying club at Jeffco

Iíve looked at that club, you have very nice planes. Iím curious how easy it is to book one of the planes though. 3 planes shared between 45 members seems overloaded? Iíll look closer next year after I have more hours and my instrument rating. I did all of my training at BJC and continue to rent there.

Thanks everyone, it has been a very fun and rewarding adventure! Btw, I completed my complex endorsement this afternoon

Iíve looked at that club, you have very nice planes. Iím curious how easy it is to book one of the planes though. 3 planes shared between 45 members seems overloaded? Iíll look closer next year after I have more hours and my instrument rating. I did all of my training at BJC and continue to rent there.

Thanks for sharing all of your stories!

Weekends can be difficult if you don't plan long term (which I don't) but, for example - I just looked this morning and I could book any of the 3 planes nearly any time from now through Friday, which is my normal flying anyway. In the past, we had a number of guys that didn't fly a lot, and scheduling was pretty easy. However, we did have a member just resign because he couldn't book when he wanted to. For prospective members, we create a read-only account on the scheduling system so they can get a real world view of it before committing to anything. And, we have a significant wait list for entry right now, so they have plenty of time to really check it out first.

Congratulations Eric, well done and keep up the good work on getting your ratings/endorsements!

Another backcountrypilot.org guy here. About 10 years ago I sold the Jeep and started using a tailwheel plane to access remote areas, haven't looked back since. Miss the Jeep at times, but not often. Maybe YJLopes and/or I can get you up in a Skywagon and ignite the tailwheel fire? The backcountry community is alive and well in CO with plenty of opportunities.

"I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I alone am morally responsible for everything I do."
--Robert Heinlein

PROUD PARENT OF A UNITED STATES MARINE!!! Sleep Well America, My Marine Has Got Your Back... Proud Parent of a Sailor, in the United States Navy.......

My private experience started in 1985 at age 19 in a Tomahawk out of Meadow Lake airport east of Colorado Springs.

Current ride is a Pilatus PC-7.

Ok - anyone that says Pilatus elicits the obligatory "You SUCK!" response ... just kidding ... that's awesome. PC-9 is top of the list of "If I win the lotto" dream. Of course, that assumes I actually buy a ticket.

For you guys/gals with private pilot licenses, if you donít subscribe to Flight Chops on YouTube, heís worth a look.

I like his videos. I also like Niko's Wings.

Originally Posted by CLYDE

Would love to get mine one of these days. Good job Eric..

Who is this Clyde fellow?

Originally Posted by CSP

Current ride is a Pilatus PC-7.

Impressive! Pilatus just built a spiffy new hangar at BJC.

Last week I flew the family to Pagosa Springs via Pueblo then across North La Veta pass and Cumbres pass in an Archer II (still working on the minimum checkout hours to take the Arrow solo). Wednesday the weather was perfect for the flight there, calm winds and not a cloud in the sky. Hobbs time 2.8 hrs. Thursday afternoon we tried to head home but had to turn back as we were surrounded by IMC. Spent another night there, cleaned the snow off the plane Friday morning and headed home. Nice clear weather but WINDY! The radio was very quiet all the way home, not much traffic (even got clearance through Bravo which allowed us to stay at the smoother 10k altitude for a bit longer). At one point I saw 105 KIAS with a ground speed of 160 kts, and as we headed north of COS the ground speed fell to 75 kts. Return trip took 2.6 hours but the family was not too happy about the bumpy ride. Winds at BJC were 28-35 kts aligned with rwy 30, but as I turned final tower told me it was 340 at 16 kts. Made a great landing and everyone was happy to be home. I'll add some pics, overall another fun family adventure

Hawaii, big island. Took off from Kona, flew south first then back north and around to the northeast side with a full stop at Upolu. This was prior to my checkride, so a CFI flew with us. I flew the whole time except for a few minutes when the CFI circled us over some amazing 2000'+ waterfalls. We flew in a 172 that was modified with a constant speed prop (my first exposure to CSP).

Some very nice RV's that we saw on the Saratoga, WY trip. Very nice folks as well, we all shared the courtesy van. If I remember right the near one is a 6A, the other is an 8.

Fun flight over the Broncos stadium:

Snowed in for a night at Pagosa Springs:

Best shot I have of Steamboat. The windows in the rentals are not the best. Grabbed a pic of Rabbit Ears on the way home.

I completed the Complex endorsement which opened up the Piper Arrow as a family cruiser option. I've also completed High Performance endorsement on a 182 in Boulder so now I have yet another good option for hauling the family. The next step is to combine the two and get checked out on a retractable 182. I suspect that will become the preferred family truckster.

We've been watching for a good weekend to get back up to Saratoga but it hasn't worked out lately. This summer I'm planning on flying up to Yellowstone and camping at the pilot's campground right at the airport (KWYS, West Yellowstone). Super anxious for that trip actually Perhaps we could make it a CO4x4 fly-in

Camped at West Yellowstone last summer. It's a great set up. Park the bird and walk 50-100 yards to the campsite. I asked about bears because the last time I camped there was 1993 and bears were known to pass through the airport. FBO told me the TSA took care of the bears when they installed the security fence around the strip, no bears since.

My hangar is at FTG. Come on out, my dad calls it the adult daycare center. Always food, soda, and beer in the fridge.

I see that you haven't flown into centennial yet, when you go to centennial eat at The perfect landing they have amazing food!

Indeed, KAPA and KFTG are both on my list of local airports to visit. I've heard several good reviews of The Perfect Landing, I'll definitely make a visit. One of these days I'll make a scenic "lap around Denver" and add those two to the list.

Originally Posted by YJLopes

Camped at West Yellowstone last summer. It's a great set up. Park the bird and walk 50-100 yards to the campsite. I asked about bears because the last time I camped there was 1993 and bears were known to pass through the airport. FBO told me the TSA took care of the bears when they installed the security fence around the strip, no bears since.

Great to hear! I was hoping someone would have BTDT already, and I was wondering about bears etc. There isn't exactly a wealth of info on it. This was the only review I found and it's from 2008: Brian's Flying Blog

My hangar is at FTG. Come on out, my dad calls it the adult daycare center. Always food, soda, and beer in the fridge.

Originally Posted by YJLopes

I'm too dumb to post pics on here from instagram, but here is me, my dad, and 3 of our buddies having fun.

That's a great photo! I'd love to stop by sometime, thanks for the invite.

Had to spend a night there once after losing an alternator on an IFR night flight there. Instruments were out of whack and we lost all battery power just before touchdown and couldn't communicate with the tower. The FBO put it on a charge and we flew home VFR the next morning. My buddy I was with is a pilot for FedEx now.

Had to spend a night there once after losing an alternator on an IFR night flight there. Instruments were out of whack and we lost all battery power just before touchdown and couldn't communicate with the tower.

Losing battery power on an IFR flight sounds stressful! I just started preparing for the IFR written. Hoping to take that in a month or two, then hoping to do the GATTS 7-day course before the end of the year.

As part of the R182 checkout I added Sidney, NE and Billings, MT to the list of visited airports. I had a nice giant loop planned out to the east that would have included Centennial and Front Range, but the weather out in Kansas that day wasn't good so we went to Billings instead. During the run up before heading home we failed the right side mags test and had to go back to the FBO. It was just before 5pm and the mechanic was about to head home but he agreed to take a quick look. Plug #1 on the bottom was fouled and they cleaned it for free and got us on our way. Leaned it a bit more on the way home and it ran noticeably better. 3 hours to get there, 2.5 hours to get home. R182 (and C182) checkout complete.

Losing battery power on an IFR flight sounds stressful! I just started preparing for the IFR written. Hoping to take that in a month or two, then hoping to do the GATTS 7-day course before the end of the year.

As part of the R182 checkout I added Sidney, NE and Billings, MT to the list of visited airports. I had a nice giant loop planned out to the east that would have included Centennial and Front Range, but the weather out in Kansas that day wasn't good so we went to Billings instead. During the run up before heading home we failed the right side mags test and had to go back to the FBO. It was just before 5pm and the mechanic was about to head home but he agreed to take a quick look. Plug #1 on the bottom was fouled and they cleaned it for free and got us on our way. Leaned it a bit more on the way home and it ran noticeably better. 3 hours to get there, 2.5 hours to get home. R182 (and C182) checkout complete.